A lifeboat volunteer who has helped save over a dozen lives has spoken of the "unbelievable honour and massive privilege" of being invited to the Queen's state funeral.
Guy Addington, a 44-year-old from Kent and member of the RNLI charity for 27 years, is among almost 200 everyday heroes who will join royals and world leaders in Westminster Abbey on Monday.
Some 183 key workers and volunteers who received accolades in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June will be part of the 2,000-strong congregation gathered to bid a final farewell to the monarch.
They also include 88-year-old Ella Elizabeth Marks who received an MBE this year for charity work and who attended George VI's coronation in 1937 on her dad's shoulders.
Mr Addington, from Kent, has been part of teams that have aided 378 people and saved 13 lives, told The Mirror: "It's an unbelievable honour and a massive privilege. It's probably the most amazing, most surreal thing that has happened to me."
He will travel to London over the weekend and said he was "really grateful" to have the opportunity to offer his condolences to the Royal Family and King Charles III for their loss.
He said: "Her Majesty meant a great deal to me personally and the RNLI - the Queen, Her Majesty, was our patron for such a long time, for 70 years.
"Not just a figurehead patron, someone who clearly demonstrated an ongoing commitment and enthusiasm for the work that we did."
"I'm just in the amazing position to be able to offer condolences not just from me personally, but from the RNLI and to say a final farewell to somebody who has become a really valued member of the RNLI family."
Mr Addington also met with the late Queen in 2011 during the monarch's visit to Margate's lifeboat station.
"I sort of expected the most I would enjoy was maybe a glimpse of Her Majesty passing in a car, or maybe walking along a small line of people and shaking a couple of hands.
"But it was clear as soon as Her Majesty arrived at the station that they were really keen to meet all of us individually.
"Her Majesty came through small groups of the team, talking to everybody individually. I got really nervous on how to address Her Majesty and what to say, not to say.
"But as soon as Her Majesty got to our group I was immediately at ease - she had a really strong knack of putting you at ease. It was really like chatting with your grandma. It was amazing that sort of ability to interact at a personal level."
Mr Addington also recalled growing a "horrible moustache" for charity and was targeted by the late monarch's sense of humour at the November 2011 meeting.
"She commented that it didn't suit me and I had to agree, as did my wife, and we shared a laugh.
"I'm lucky enough to have had personal experience and of course I'm really sad. It's just amazing to be able to go on Monday and say a final farewell".
Among the other individuals to have received an invitation to the Queen's state funeral on Monday is 88-year-old Ella Elizabeth Marks, a volunteer with Ealing Talking Newspaper.
"My father was an incredible Royalist," she said, referring to her middle name. "I was named after her".
She recalled a family story of her attending George VI's coronation on her father's shoulders on the Mall as a young child.
But she remembers more clearly sleeping out overnight by the side of the Ritz - close to Buckingham Palace - 16 years later for Queen Elizabeth II's own coronation.
"It was absolutely amazing. I had also been in the Mall for George VI's funeral and watched the slow procession of the gun carriage."
"I'm a monarchist. We have been very fortunate in this country and I regard myself as particularly fortunate. I'm Jewish and I realise how valuable it has been to be born in this country".
Ms Marks said she was "honoured" to have received an invitation, adding: "It's difficult. I shall treasure the memories and pass it on to my children, grandchildren as a memory."
The 88-year-old, who has also volunteered at Age UK, also described the queues zig-zagging around central London in order to attend the lying-in-state in Westminster Hall as "incredible".
"It's very difficult to put into words, but it's somehow very British and I think it shows how much some people have realised the value of what we have here."
Looking forward, Ms Marks said will be attending the coronation of King Charles III - but not in a similar fashion to the late Queen.
"I don't think I should be sleeping out on the pavement I'm afraid," she added. "I think my children would be horrified if I suggested doing that at my age."
Other invitees include Natalie Queiroz, from Birmingham, who teaches children about the dangers of knife crime, and a woman from North Shields who built a play centre for disabled children.
A No 10 spokesperson said the 183 individuals invited and who were in the Queen's Birthday honours in June "were recognised for their extraordinary contributions", including during the pandemic.
They are people "who volunteered in their communities and charity workers, and those who work in healthcare, education, and the wider public sector," they added.
World leaders and royals will start descending on London this weekend ahead of the service, where NHS staff will be among those proceeding with the Queen's coffin to Westminster Abbey.
Prime Minister Liz Truss will meet a select group of world leaders at Downing Street and the grace-and-favour country home Chevening, as Chequers is being repaired.
On Sunday she will hold an audience with the King and a reception with visiting heads of state, before marking a national minute's silence in honour of the Queen at 8pm.
